Gum massaging appliance



Sept. 6, 1938. R. w. BYRER GUM MASSAGING APPLIANCE Filed Sept. 13, 1935 E Y/enfO?" Ray;

Patented Sept. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application September 1 Claim.

My invention relates generally to appliances for massaging the gums, and more particularly to devices of this character which are, or may be, combined with a tooth brush.

It is highly desirable periodically to massage the ums so as to increase the circulation therethrough, and to toughen and harden the gums so as to'make them less susceptible to disease.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a massaging appliance by which the gums may be massaged incidentally to brushing the teeth. The device, of course, may also be used independently of the brush whenever desired.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved gum massaging appliance which may be formed as a part of a tooth brush and used therewith so as to massage the gums incidental to the operation of brushing the teeth.

A further object is to provide an improved gum massaging appliance which may be readily attached to any standard tooth brush.

A further object is to provide an improved gum massaging appliance to which a tooth brush may be readily secured.

A further object is to' provide an improved gum massaging appliance having a metallic insert which will maintain the rubber massaging elements in position and enable the user to apply a sufiicient massaging force thereto.

Other objects will appear from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tooth brush showing my improved massaging appliance secured thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the massaging appliance, a portion of a tooth brush being shown in dotted lines in the proper position relative to the appliance;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the appliance;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the metallic insert;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4; I

Fig. 6 is a combination view showing a modified form of my invention, in which form the tooth brush is in the form of a unit which may be secured to the massaging appliance;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the tooth brush and massaging appliance shown in Fig. 6, with their two parts in their proper relative positions.

My invention may be applied to a tooth brush of conventional form, as indicated in Fig. l, and comprising a handle ID, a shank I2, and a head portion l4, tufted bristles l6 being set in the head 13, 1935, Serial No. 40,406

H in the usual manner. The massaging appliance, best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, comprises a metallic member designated generally [8, and comprising a pair of opposed channel grooved portions 20 with side or bridge members 22 extending upwardly from the channel portions, the channel portions being joined by a bottom wall 24. The bridge members 22 form relatively large apertures 26 for a purpose hereinafter to be described.

The metallic insert l8 forms a frame to which the massaging elements illustrated as a pair of rows, each comprising three bulbous projections 28 formed of rubber or other suitable rubber substitute, are bonded. The projections 28 not only extend upwardly beyond the bridge portion 22 of the frame, but extend sidewardly so as to be generally cylindrical in shape. The entire frame I8 is covered with a thin layer of rubber so that none of the metal will be exposed to contact with the gums. The rubber is sufficiently soft that the projections 28 will have a suitable gentle rubbing action when the appliance is being used;

The frame I8 is made of resilient metal and the distance between the channel portions 20 is such that the appliance may be readily pushed over the head I4 of a conventional tooth brush and firmly grip the side edges thereof. The rubber coating on' the frame l8 increases the frictional grip of the appliance upon the head ll of the tooth brush. The appliance may, however, be readily removed by slightly spreading the channel portions 20 outwardly, thus partially relieving the frictional grip. The projections 28 are of suflicient height to lie substantially at or slightly above the ends of the bristles, as best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5.

In using the tooth brush having the massaging appliance of my invention attached thereto, it is not necessary to remove the appliance when cleaning the tooth brush, since the relatively large apertures 26 formed between the side bridge portions 22 and the channel portions 20 of the frame permit the cleansing water to flow freely through the bristles and thus remove the residue of tooth paste and foreign matter therefrom.

In Figs. 6 and 7, I have illustrated a modified form of my invention, in which the massaging appliance is permanently secured to a head 88 which has a handle similar to the tooth brush handle l0 formed integrally therewith. In this modified form the resilient frame 32 of the massaging appliance has a downwardly (Fig. 7) extending. portion 34 which is embedded in the head 30, preferably by having the head molded l6 about said portion. In other respects, the massaging appliance is of substantially the same form as that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, and I have therefore applied the same reference characters to parts which are identical in each construction. The opposed channel shaped portions 20 of the metallic frame are conformed to receive a brush member 36 which has bristles 38 set therein in the usual manner. The member 36 is of such size and conformation that it may readily he slid into the opposed grooves formed by the channel portions 20 of the frame and be securedly gripped therein, due to the resiliency of the frame and due to the rubber coating which is applied to the exposed surfaces of the frame. Since the massaging appliance is relatively durable, the brush member 36 may be readily replaced as becomes necessary.

While I have shown and described particular embodiments of my invention, it will be pparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A gum massaging attachment adapted to be applied to a conventional tooth brush head having bristles comprising a metallic frame having channel shaped parts conformed resiliently to engage the head, and having side bridge parts extending upwardly from said channel parts and adapted to extend along each side of the bristles, and rubber massaging means secured to and surrounding said side bridge parts and extending substantially to the plane of the bristle ends when in position on said head.

RALPH W. BYRER. 

